Residential Architects Unite

Hundreds of residential architects are meeting in Austin, Texas, Oct. 1-4 in a symposium setting designed for like-minded professionals to learn together, and from each other. The third annual design symposium will be presented by the Custom Residential Architects Network, a subset of the American Institute of Architects.

Capitalizing on society’s growing interest in home design, residential architects are uniting to improve their skills and raise the bar for the industry. The event brings practitioners doing custom residential work to the Austin area, one of the top residential design hot spots in the country. A home tour, plenty of education sessions, roundtables and a panel discussion highlight the event.

The home tour is hosted by the local Austin chapter of AIA, followed by the education events which are hosted by CRAN. The theme, “Looking back to move forward” suggests the need to break out of this struggling economy and into a different mind set by sharpening skills needed to deal with what’s coming in the future, says Luis Jaurgeui, AIA, CRAN chairman.

“Our theme is meant for people to look at what they are used to doing then determining what they need to be doing. Other than that generality, it’s about how to bring value to clients and make our practices more relevant technologically, and to improve service and sustainability,” Jauregui says.

AIA AUSTIN Home tour

A highlight of the multi-day event will be the Austin AIA’s 24th annual home tour Sat., Oct. 2. “This tour has matured over the decades, and is of high quality, run by an extensive committee that meets throughout the year and selects the homes. The goal is to have homes on the tour that best represent advantages a customer could derive from hiring an architect. There will be a variety of styles that show how architects and clients can interact with great results,” Jauregui says.

Classroom-style education will be the focus of the day on Sunday, Oct. 3. “While the education will benefit anyone who attends, it has a focus on the influence of regionalism and sustainability,” says John Isch, principal, RWA Architects in Cincinnati, and a co-organizer of the symposium. “Every session will be CEU accredited at different levels. Non-AIA members are invited to attend the entire event, but at a slightly different price.”

CRAN’s 3rd annual symposium is targeted to custom residential architects, but is open to anyone including builders. “A big part of CRAN’s mission is bringing architects back into the AIA umbrella. There’s a home, now, for residential architects in AIA. Builders, I think, could gain incredible insight into the mind of their architect peers they work so closely with. It’s smart for them to be part of this,” Jauregui explains.